41 replies to this topic

[dianeh85]

Lake Helene and down to Odessa: there are large snow banks and the trails are only peeking out after about a mile from Bear Lake to Lake Helene. (the first mile is pretty clear). We were told that the hike down from Helene to Odessa was solid ice, crampons necessary, so we did not attempt it. ( hiked June 17th Bear to the Odessa overlook across the trail from Helene)

[lydia]

Saturday, June 12 there was a lot of snow from Dream to Emerald. It was pretty packed and very easy to navigate. It snowed for 2 hours of our 4 1/2 hour hike (had the kids with us...great snow play).

Tuesday, June 15 Thunder Lake. Trail clear until about last 1.5 miles. Snow several feet deep on trail and deep snow at lake. Lake still partially frozen. Gaitors very helpful. Snowshoes not necessary. Glad I had yaktracks because we were early, and it was pretty slick in spots.

[ALooneyGuy]

June 19, Lawn Lake - Trail is wet and muddy in a lot of places. Quite a bit of snow the last mile to the lake, but not deep enough to be much of a problem.

[BigAl]

dianeh85, on 18 June 2010 - 06:06 AM, said:

Lake Helene and down to Odessa: there are large snow banks and the trails are only peeking out after about a mile from Bear Lake to Lake Helene. (the first mile is pretty clear). We were told that the hike down from Helene to Odessa was solid ice, crampons necessary, so we did not attempt it. ( hiked June 17th Bear to the Odessa overlook across the trail from Helene)

It might be icy early in the morning, but the snow was in great shape Tuesday afternoon the 15th. I mostly ran across all of the snowfields (wearing racing flats) except for the first one. That one is super steep and could easily end in premature death if you're careless, so I kicked steps to get across.

[ds77]

Hiked Bierstadt Lake on June 19th and the whole trail from Bear Lake and back to Glacier Gorge park and ride was very clear.

Hiked Cub lake on June 20th whole trail was clear.

[mlebwill]

Haiyaha is nearly clear. Bits of hard packed snow in the shadows along the trail above Dream. No troubles getting there at all.

[ALooneyGuy]

June 26, Ouzel Lake - pretty dry up until the Bluebird Lake fork. Quite a few soggy spots after that. Just a little snow right at the lake. I talked to someone who said there was still a lot of snow on the Bluebird trail, but that's no surprise.

[Weaver]

ALooneyGuy, on 26 June 2010 - 03:56 PM, said:

June 26, Ouzel Lake - pretty dry up until the Bluebird Lake fork. Quite a few soggy spots after that. Just a little snow right at the lake. I talked to someone who said there was still a lot of snow on the Bluebird trail, but that's no surprise.

For those of you with lots of experience watching the trails clear in early summer, what are the odds of us making it up the keyhole route of Long's on July 21 or 22?

[MaizeEagle]

Weaver, on 28 June 2010 - 12:03 PM, said:

For those of you with lots of experience watching the trails clear in early summer, what are the odds of us making it up the keyhole route of Long's on July 21 or 22?

Many times the NPS will have it rated technical, when in fact you can avoid the snow that remains in the trough. There is a report on 14ers.com that says " there was a little snow on the area between the Keyhole and the Trough that was easily passed w/o gear. There was one unavoidable (approx 50-60 or so vertical feet) section of snow near the top of the Trough... crampons/axe were helpful but it could be done without. You can avoid the snow for most of it by skirting to the right though. There is virtually no snow/ice on the Narrows." It went on to say some summited w/o any ice gear.

Two weeks can make a huge difference in conditions.

If the weather looks good, my son and I are going to attempt it on July 14. We are thinking that it will be fine. The average date of the route being rated nontechnical is July 15, I believe.

[ALooneyGuy]

The recent heat seems to have trails clearing at near normal. I would say your chances are good.

MaizeEagle, on 29 June 2010 - 01:33 PM, said:

Many times the NPS will have it rated technical, when in fact you can avoid the snow that remains in the trough. There is a report on 14ers.com that says " there was a little snow on the area between the Keyhole and the Trough that was easily passed w/o gear. There was one unavoidable (approx 50-60 or so vertical feet) section of snow near the top of the Trough... crampons/axe were helpful but it could be done without. You can avoid the snow for most of it by skirting to the right though. There is virtually no snow/ice on the Narrows." It went on to say some summited w/o any ice gear.

Two weeks can make a huge difference in conditions.

If the weather looks good, my son and I are going to attempt it on July 14. We are thinking that it will be fine. The average date of the route being rated nontechnical is July 15, I believe.

[John]

June 21, East and West Glacial Knobs snow free.
June 22, route to Shelf and Solitude Lakes mostly snow free. Routh to Thatchtop from Solitude snow free.
June 23, route to The Loch clear, but between the Loch and Taylor Peak lots of snow.
June 24, Eagle Cliff Mountain snow free.
June 25, Lookout Mountain and Horsetooth Peak snow free.
June 26, some snow on the trail to Mt. Ida on the trail to Timber Lake.

[GLENNinPA]

John, on 29 June 2010 - 04:39 PM, said:

June 21, East and West Glacial Knobs snow free.
June 22, route to Shelf and Solitude Lakes mostly snow free. Routh to Thatchtop from Solitude snow free.
June 23, route to The Loch clear, but between the Loch and Taylor Peak lots of snow.
June 24, Eagle Cliff Mountain snow free.
June 25, Lookout Mountain and Horsetooth Peak snow free.
June 26, some snow on the trail to Mt. Ida on the trail to Timber Lake.

That's a nice list of hike John. Sound's like a great week.

[Adventurist]

John, on 29 June 2010 - 04:39 PM, said:

June 21, East and West Glacial Knobs snow free.
June 22, route to Shelf and Solitude Lakes mostly snow free. Routh to Thatchtop from Solitude snow free.
June 23, route to The Loch clear, but between the Loch and Taylor Peak lots of snow.
June 24, Eagle Cliff Mountain snow free.
June 25, Lookout Mountain and Horsetooth Peak snow free.
June 26, some snow on the trail to Mt. Ida on the trail to Timber Lake.

Hi John

How did the snow levels look below Mt Ida? Did it look possible to get in to the lakes below Mt Ida at this time?

[BigAl]

On June 29th, the Flattop trail was totally clear except for the snowfield on the east side of the summit. The Tonahutu trail was almost snow free, with a short snow crossing that was avoidable on the steep section below Sprague. Going back over, the North Inlet still has a few short snow crossings, all but one of which was easily avoidable. The one that wasn't avoidable was fairly low angle, and none of them presented a problem wearing racing flats.

[John]

Azure and Inkwell Lakes were still frozen but to me it looked like they were accessible (it wouldn't not be easy for me even with no snow anywhere). I'm getting better at walking on snow and actually prefer that to boulder hopping. I'll see if I can post a picture later tonight to show you the snow conditions.